The land is at the southeast corner of Houston Levee Road and U.S. 64, with the larger of the parcels having a 2014 appraised value of $2.5 million, according to the Shelby County Assessor of Property.

In conjunction with the purchase, The Charleston HL Apartment Community filed a $1.6 million Tennessee Deed of Trust through First Alliance Bank. Charles W. “Wes” Misenhelter signed the deed as president of the borrower.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Cargill to Invest $45M In West Memphis Facility

Cargill Inc. will invest $45 million to build a grain handling and shipping facility in West Memphis, the company announced Friday, July 11.

Cargill, which operates a corn mill on Presidents Island in Memphis, said in a statement that the new facility would “become a key origination point in the south for soybeans, corn, milo and wheat.”

The West Memphis plant will have three truck-receiving areas for unloading grain and will be capable of holding up to five barges, loading as many as eight barges in a full day.

Minneapolis-based Cargill said it has already received the necessary permits for the facility and is working on the timeline for the start of construction and completion of the project.

“We look forward to this new business relationship,” said West Memphis Mayor William H. Johnson in a statement.

“The potential economic impact that an investment of this magnitude can have on a city such as West Memphis is exciting and promising to the future of this city.”

The facility, which will be Cargill’s first grain elevator in Arkansas, will employ about 15 people once it’s operational in 2016, the company said.

“This business is focused on partnering with our farmer customers – there’s a good base in Arkansas – and we’re looking forward to working with them to move their product into the global market,” Cargill spokesman Mark Klein said. “It’s here in part because there’s been increased production in Arkansas of corn and soybeans.”

Klein said the West Memphis facility would have “no effect” on the Presidents Island corn mill plant because the “corn milling business is separate” from the planned West Memphis facility.

It wasn’t immediately clear Friday morning if Memphis and Shelby County were considered for the project.

Public and private sources, including Cargill, have committed around $38 million to expand Presidents Island in southwest Memphis.

Ward Wimbish, West Memphis economic development director, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the facility is part of a concerted effort to keep Arkansas farmers from having to send their products across the Mississippi River into nearby Memphis.

“This impact extends beyond West Memphis,” Wimbish said. “This is for all over eastern Arkansas, which now has an outlet for products without having to leave the state. It saves them truck time, saves them fuel time and reduces congestion on the bridges.”

About 70 million bushels of grain are produced and harvested within an hour’s drive of West Memphis, Wimbish said.

– Amos Maki

June Home Sales Up 10 Percent

Home selling activity in Memphis and Shelby County rose with the temperature in June.

Realtors sold 1,590 homes in Shelby County in June, up 10 percent from 1,445 homes sold in June 2013, according to real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

The 1,590 homes sold in June was up from the 1,242 home sales recorded in May.

In all, 18 out of 33 ZIP codes in Shelby County had an increase in overall sales activity for the month and 16 ZIP codes had an increase in average sales prices. Chandler Reports showed 41 percent of all home sales for the month were valued at less than $100,000.

The average sales price of a home in June was $162,079, up 3 percent from $158,016 in June 2013.

The 38017 ZIP code in Collierville recorded the most sales with 152 averaging $314,942. The 38018 ZIP code of Cordova South recorded 108 sales averaging $156,792. The 38016 ZIP code of Cordova North recorded 101 sales averaging $131,191.

The large decline in bank sales activity continued in June, slowing down overall sales totals and increasing average sales prices across the county.

There were 194 bank, or foreclosure, sales in Shelby County in June 2014, down 9.24 percent from 214 bank sales in June 2013.

The average price of a bank sale was $70,764, down 4 percent from $73,571 in June 2013.

Shelby County recorded 1,396 nonbank sales in June.

The average sales price for a nonbank home was $175,145, up 1 percent from $172,697 in June 2013.

Realtors sold 1,503 existing homes in June, up 10 percent from 1,363 existing homes sold in June 2013. The average sales price of an existing home in June was $154,907, up slightly from $152,278 in June 20013.

Realtors sold 87 new homes in June, up 6 percent from 82 new homes sold in June 2013. The average price for a new home in June was $292,014, up 15 percent from $253,407 in June 2013.

– Amos Maki

Grizzlies Sign Udrih To Two-Year Deal

The Memphis Grizzlies assured themselves of having an experienced back-up point guard to begin next season by re-signing Beno Udrih to a two-year contract.

Udrih, 32, was claimed off waivers late last season.

He shined in the first-round, seven-game playoff series loss against Oklahoma City as he averaged 7.9 points and shot 47 percent from the floor.

Udrih moved into the No. 2 point guard role as rookie point guard Nick Calathes sat out the first seven games of a 20-game suspension after failing a league drug test.

Calathes will miss the first 13 games of this season, should he return to the Grizzlies.

He has expressed a desire to go back to Europe where he would make significantly more money (a reported $6 million for three years); the Grizzlies, however, can bring Calathes back on a contract that would pay Calathes around $800,000 this season.

For his NBA career, Udrih has averaged 8.8 points and 3.6 assists. In 10 seasons, Udrih also has played for San Antonio, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Orlando and the New York Knicks.

– Don Wade

Electrolux Readies Air Conditioning Initiative

The Memphis Electrolux plant is readying its “Keeping Memphis Cool” initiative to come later this week.

The company will donate room air conditioning units to needy families and individuals in Memphis through Neighborhood Christian Centers.

The centers are operating a hotline at 881-6013 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for those seeking the units to pre-qualify for them.

Priority is given to senior citizens, the disabled and those who have been laid off from work or on medical leave.

– Bill Dries

Chef Jenn Products to Appear In More Outlets, States

The “Chef Jenn” lines of frozen seafood products from Memphis chef Jennifer McCullough are being picked up by East Coast grocery store chain Harris Teeter and also by Walmart in several regions.

Walmart announced the distribution of McCullough’s products via Twitter on July 10, following a meeting she had with Walmart executives at the company’s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., in recent days.

McCullough met with Harris Teeter several months ago and received her first purchase order on July 10 during a trip to New England.

Her products should begin appearing in Harris Teeter stores in August.

In related news, she also will be working with her manufacturing operators to invest in additional equipment to substantially increase production capacity.